PORTSMOUTH — Visitors downtown on Sunday will see a cityscape transformed from a slow, vehicular motorway into a fast-paced race course of speeding bicycles.

The eighth annual Portsmouth Criterium, sponsored by the Smuttynose Brewing Company, draws professional riders from around the region and provides opportunities for children and community members to be part of the action.

The event kicks off at 11 a.m. in Market Square with four races for children, followed by the Community Challenge race and four professional races for men and women.

This year, the Criterium is not offering a specific women’s race because of consistently low registrations in previous years, but women are permitted to join the Master’s 40 Race under USA Cycling regulations.

More than 8,000 spectators normally line the 1-mile course around downtown and mill through the Lifestyle Expo, which this year has grown to feature more than 62 vendors focused on wellness and promoting activity.

Race co-organizer Catherine Keenan said typically the children’s races and pro races fill up every year, and she expects the same turnout this year.

The Community Challenge race draws teams of four from area businesses for a 25-minute race at a cost of $2,250 per team, with proceeds benefitting the Krempels Center, a local organization that supports people who have suffered a traumatic brain injury.

“We started the Community Challenge to get more people from the community involved because (the Criterium) was really a pro race, and that’s fun, but I think the event is really about the community and bringing people downtown for an event that is free to the public to watch. It’s about healthy living and sport, and is just a nice way to spend the day,” Keenan said.

Keenan said the children’s races introduce a new generation to the sport of cycling.

“There has been more activity around junior racing in the last year or so, and I think that our race is a nice way for kids to get an opportunity to see what that might look like or be like for them,” she said, “and it gets kids excited to be outdoors and on a bike and getting to ride in downtown Portsmouth on a course with the pros.”

Keenan also pointed to the excitement of the race, with pro riders packed into tight groups careening around tight corners lined with hay bales and spectators.

“I think that this sort of brings cycling to the people in a way,” she said. “Where you are seeing those big pro events in the news, this is a way for people to actually come and see the riders, meet them, interact in some way and see what the events are really like. There are not so many places in the country that you can go watch a pro race in your downtown.”

Keenan and Susanne Delaney, herself a former pro rider, have been organizing the event since its inception.

A full race schedule and details about street closures is available at the Criterium’s website: portsmouthcrit.org.

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Gretyl Macalaster may be reached at gmacalaster@newstote.com.